Picture
Object name
Maker
Date made
Circa 1889
Place made
Description
Silk and wool art needlework depicting an iris with pairs of tulips, anemones, and crocus buds. The back of the frame has a handwritten label which reads, 'Lent by Mr Swinburne Hanham. Worked at the Royal School of Art Needlework Kensington 1889'.
Content description
Piece of art needlework depicting a bouquet with pale pink, orange, and beige flowers. Included are an iris with pairs of tulips, anemones, and crocus buds. The bouquet is tied with a bow and sits on a beige background. The flowers are stitched in silk threads and the stems and leaves are stitched in wool. The embroidery is worked on a silk ground primarily in long and short stitches, with French knots in the centre of the flowers and split stitches along the outline of the bow and in the centre of the iris.
The back of the frame has a handwritten label which reads, 'Lent by Mr Swinburne Hanham. Worked at the Royal School of Art Needlework Kensington 1889', suggesting it was once on display in an exhibition. It is likely that this was the year the piece was made. The iris is reflective of the influence of Japonisme, which was popular in Britain in the late 19th century. Its influence can be seen in the period's interior design, fashion and art. The embroidery exemplifies art needlework, a late 19th-century form of freestyle embroidery which began in Britain and spread elsewhere. This type of embroidery was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement.
John Castleman Swinburne-Hanham, the owner of this embroidery, was a leading figure in the history of cremation. He married Elizabeth Marian Wells, the daughter of Sir Thomas Spencer Wells, Queen Victoria's surgeon, in 1889. This suggests the needlework may have been a wedding gift for their marital home. This piece is probably the earliest embroidered work made by the Royal School of Art Needlework in the RSN collection.
The back of the frame has a handwritten label which reads, 'Lent by Mr Swinburne Hanham. Worked at the Royal School of Art Needlework Kensington 1889', suggesting it was once on display in an exhibition. It is likely that this was the year the piece was made. The iris is reflective of the influence of Japonisme, which was popular in Britain in the late 19th century. Its influence can be seen in the period's interior design, fashion and art. The embroidery exemplifies art needlework, a late 19th-century form of freestyle embroidery which began in Britain and spread elsewhere. This type of embroidery was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement.
John Castleman Swinburne-Hanham, the owner of this embroidery, was a leading figure in the history of cremation. He married Elizabeth Marian Wells, the daughter of Sir Thomas Spencer Wells, Queen Victoria's surgeon, in 1889. This suggests the needlework may have been a wedding gift for their marital home. This piece is probably the earliest embroidered work made by the Royal School of Art Needlework in the RSN collection.
Dimensions
width: 40.5cm
height: 50cm
height: 50cm
Materials
Stitches
Techniques
Motifs
Credit line
Gift of anonymous, November 2021.
Catalogue number
COL.2021.75
Other numbers
RSN 2640
© Royal School of Needlework